絕對死裏逃生 (圖)

AN 18-year-old man was dramatically rescued last night after the Mitsubishi Magna he was driving crashed and was left teetering off the side of the Fitzgerald Bridge at Raymond Terrace near Newcastle.

Police rushed to the scene to find the Raymond Terrace man trapped in the vehicle, which was hanging precariously over the side of the bridge attached only to the guardrail, Lower Hunter Police Chief Inspector Steve Moate said.

He was heading west when he tried to overtake a vehicle, lost control, clipped the southern side of the bridge, fishtailed and crashed through the northern railing,\'\' Chief Inspector Moate said.

The vehicle crashed through the railing and became caught up in the railing.

It was hanging vertically attached only to the rail, facing the Williams River below.\'\'

A tow-truck driver arrived at the scene and quickly attached a winch to the vehicle.

Once the vehicle was secured, State Emergency Service and ambulance rescue workers cut the railing away and winched the vehicle onto the bridge.

The man was left hanging in the vehicle for about one hour and 20 minutes, before he was freed.

Ambulance officers treated the man at the scene, before the Westpac Rescue Helicopter flew him to John Hunter Hospital suffering shoulder injuries.

Chief Inspector Moate said the man was lucky to be alive.


It was a 20-metre drop to the river,\'\' he said. If the car fell, it would have landed on its roof and anything could have happened.\'\'

The bridge is on Seaham Road, where the Williams River meets the Hunter River, near sporting fields.


Police put a boat on standby at the boat ramp below in case the vehicle fell into the river.